Charlie Swan: Vampire Hunter
by WistfullThinking
Summary: What if Twilight wasn't a love story? One day bears start turning up ripped to shreds and drained of blood, and when Chief Charlie Swan goes to investigate, he finds a lot more than he bargained for. It turns out that his best friends Carlisle Cullen and Billy Black aren't who he thought they were. Join Charlie on his mission to stop the monsters that plague this land.
1. Chapter 1

I'd never given much thought to how I would die- though id had reason enough these last few months- but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.

I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the monster, and he stared pleasantly back at me.

Surely it was good way to die, a noble way, with dignity and pride still intact as I stared back into the soulless eyes of the hunter. I knew if I even blinked he'd be on me in a second.

He slowly started to circle me, a malicious grin on his face; I tensed, readying myself for when he would lunge.

"And then the lion slaughtered the lamb." He growled as he pounced on me, baring sharpened teeth.

* * *

I ran into the coffee table for the umpteenth time, this time knocking over my coffee cup in the process. I swore under my breath and grabbed a rag from the kitchen, once the mess was delt with I resumed my pacing, this time staying away from the coffee table.

I wasn't usually so skittish, on the contrary I was chief of the Forks Police Department I was considered a hero around these parts.

OK that was a bit of an exaggeration; the worst crimes that happened around here were small car crashes from the slick roads and the occasional jaywalker. But still you never know, one day the dead could just up and start walking the good green earth again, and who would the civilians call? That's right Chief Charlie Swan and his boys in blue.

But I'm getting off topic here; the reason for my nervousness was my beautiful daughter, Bella. Her mom got remarried to some hot shot baseball player and she decided it would be a good idea to send Bella here to live with me for awhile. The problem? I had NO IDEA how to be a father it wasn't that I didn't try, I really did it's just that I get so awkward at times that it makes it hard to communicate.

She hadn't even been here since she was fourteen, such a long time….. I climbed the creaky stairs of my old two story house, looking at the pictures adorning the walls as I went. They were mostly of Bella, school pictures, from 1st grade all the way up to the more recent, 11th, I smiled she was such a cutie, she looked so much like her mother.

I felt a pang in my heart thinking about Renee, I really did miss her sometimes, not as a lover, but as a friend. She always knew what to say to make me feel better.

I reached the top of the stairs and went into the third door to the right, Bella's room. It looked the exact same as it did seventeen years ago, when Renee Swan went into labor and blessed her flustered husband with a beautiful baby girl.

He remembered it like it was yesterday.

He sat down on the bed, the old springs of the mattress groaning under his weight, and reminisced on those simpler times, when he and Renee had been young and in love, too young, much too young. But he didn't regret it oddly enough, Renee had been miserable those last couple of months but he still endured, even when she fled the miserable little town of Forks with his six month old baby girl, he still continued on.

Sure he tried to track her down for a while but it was no use, she had hated this town, still did.

She called him a couple of weeks later saying she wanted a divorce, that they had been married too young, that she needed to get away for a while. And he agreed, it wasn't that they didn't still love each other it was just that some people weren't meant to be together. And he and Renee were those people.

He had just one condition that Bella come to visit him every summer. And she had, every summer for fourteen years, until one day she put her foot down saying she didn't want to come anymore, just like her mother…

His phone ringing snapped him out of his memories; he pulled it out of his back pocket and answered.

"Hello?" He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Is this Chief Swan?" came an obviously fake southern accented voice.

"Yes…." He answered wearily, thinking it was some punk kids prank calling him.

"I need to ask you something very important." The voice said.

"Okay…." Charlie responded, narrowing his eyes. What did he want to ask?

"What do cops eat for dessert?" the voice snickered.

Charlie rolled his eyes, it wasn't punk kids, it was much, much worse. "Copcakes." Said Charlie, sighing. He could feel the beginnings of a migraine starting behind his eyes.

"You've heard that one before!" the voice accused, southern accent gone.

Charlie snorted, "Yea from you. What did you want Jeremy?"

Jeremy Sharp, his loyal deputy and one of his best friends. Jeremy had moved to Forks about two years back, he applied for a job at the police station and he and Charlie had hit it off. Jeremy was a handsome man with baby blue eyes and a tuft of shaggy blond hair. He looked younger than he was, 28. Despite being so young he was great on the field, though not so much off it. He had a habit of being a general pain in the behind, but Charlie loved him anyway. Most of the time.

"You told me to remind you to pick your kid up at the airport at 2:30." Jeremy said, sounding slightly disappointed.

Shoot! He had gotten so wrapped up in his memories that he had lost track of time. Charlie looked at the clock suddenly feeling very nervous. What would she be like now that she was almost an adult? What if she didn't like it here? What if she couldn't make any friends? What if- "Hey, man you there!"

Jeremy practically shouted into the phone. Charlie winced and pulled the phone away from his ear.

"Yea I'm here. I have to go. I won't be in tonight, can you cover for me?"

"Sure man. Good luck with your kid."

"Thanks." Charlie pushed the end call button, and put the phone back in his pocket.

He stood from the bed and went downstairs, grabbing his jacket and car keys on his way out the door. Locking the door behind him he stepped off the porch, it was raining. Typical, he thought. As he was walking to his cruiser, his eyes landed on the ancient Chevy, dripping with the falling precipitation.

He smiled a bit, he hoped Bella liked it. She had wanted to buy her own car but knowing she was a bit low on funds Charlie bought one for her. It was a monster of a thing, but it was sure to keep her safe from any and all cars that might have the intent to do her harm. Charlie had bought it from Billy Black; one of his other best friends, the look of utter relief on his son, Jacobs face had been priceless, you could just tell that the poor boy had not wanted to drive the thing AT ALL. Charlie chuckled as he pulled out of the driveway.

"Well here goes nothing." Charlie said with grim determination.

* * *

**A/N I got this idea off of Tumblr and thought id try it out. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm going to upload two more chapters but after that i want you guys to tell if i should continue or not.**


	2. Chapter 2

It was awkward.

He recognized her immediately; she stuck out like a sore thumb, she was so pale she almost looked sickly. That and she was wearing a tank top when no one in their right mind would wear that in this weather. They said their hellos and hugged awkwardly.

"It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied her. "You haven't changed much. How's Renee?'

"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." She said, smiling a little forcedly.

His heart leaped at the term, he knew she called him Charlie behind his back, and he had been a little afraid that she would call him that when they met again.

She had only a few bags, it all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.

"I found you a good car for cheap," he announced, once they were all buckled in.

"What kind of car?" Bella asked, sounding suspicious.

"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy." Charlie responded wearily, maybe she had been set on finding her own car. He tensed hoping that wasn't the case. He didn't need another reason for her to hate it here.

"Where did you find it?"

"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?" La Push is the little Quileute reservation down along the coast.

"No"

"He used to go fishing with us during the summer," he prompted, hoping she would remember."He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued, when she didn't respond, growing more anxious by the minute. How could she not remember Billy? He used to bring her little candies that some of the old Indian women would make, "so he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell his truck for cheap."

"What year is it?"

He winced slightly, that was the one question he had hoped she wouldn't ask. "Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine – it's only a few years old, really." He said, trying to keep his tone light. Seventeen was too old for temper tantrums right?

"When did he buy it?" Bella asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"He bought it in 1984, I think."

"New?"

"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties – or late fifties at the earliest," Charlie admitted, trying to keep the sheepish tone out of his voice.

"Ch – Dad, I don't know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if something went wrong, and I can't afford a mechanic….."

"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore." Which was probably a good thing considering all the possible things one could destroy with it.

"How cheap is cheap." She asked looking worried.

"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." He said, looking at her hopefully.

"You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."

She didn't look angry, or disappointed, he took that as a good sign. "I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He kept his eyes facing forward. He wasn't really good at emotional stuff.

"That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it." Bella said a little awkwardly.

Well at least he knew she cared, he thought.

They pulled up into the drive way of his little unchanging house, an hour later. Bella unbuckled her seat belt and hopped out of the cruiser to get a better look at her new – well, new to her – truck. She looked happy as she circled the thing. That was good, one less thing to worry about.

"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" she exclaimed, looking delighted.

"I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, getting all embarrassed again.

It took only one trip to get her stuff upstairs. He followed her up to her room.

Her room….. The old wooden floor, the faded blue walls, the yellowed lace curtains adorning the window, he hadn't changed any of it, Apart from switching the crib for a bed, and adding a desk. He wasn't a man of change.

He didn't hover.

He left her as soon as he was sure she was fine. Charlie went down the creaky old stairs, and for the second time that day, started pacing in front of the coffee table. But this time it wasn't because he was nervous, no, this time he was scared, really and truly scared. Every father wants what's best for their daughter and he was no exception, what he was scared of was simple, that he wouldn't be able to protect his daughter, sure there wasn't much to protect her from in this mediocre little town, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Call it a sixth sense or whatever you want to call it but he had a gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach that something bad was going to happen real soon. He just knew it.

The gnawing feeling was still there when he woke up the next morning. It was still there as he got dressed. And it was still there when he went down to breakfast.

The smell of bacon and eggs hit him full force when he entered the kitchen, and his stomach rumbled appreciatively. "Morning, Bells." He greeted, on his way to get the newspaper. "You didn't have to make breakfast," he said, when he came back. He opened his newspaper, plopping down on one of the old chairs at the kitchen table.

"Morning, Dad, and yea I did. I may not have visited in a while, but I remember your atrocious cooking clear as day!" she said jokingly, setting a plate of food in front of him.

He chuckled, thanking her as she sat down to her own plate of food. The rest of the meal they ate in silence, only talking every once in a while about simple things like school and the weather. As soon as he was finished, he thanked her again, bid her farewell, and hightailed out the door into the bipolar weather that was Forks, Washington.

* * *

"Permission to approach, Sir!"

Charlie rolled his eyes at his deranged blue eyed friend. "You don't have to ask to come into my office, Jeremy."Charlie said, already growing annoyed.

"I know but it's funny to see you get all annoyed, your forehead does this funny thin – Ah! There! You see riiiiight there!" Jeremy chortled, coming closer to point at Charlie's forehead.

Scowling Charlie swatted his hand away. "Need something?"

Jeremy snorted, "You don't like small talk, do you?" Jeremy sat down on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"Nope." Charlie sorted through some papers on his desk; it wasn't anything major just some missing pets and a small house fire that the Forks Fire Department had no trouble putting out. No injuries.

"Actually there have been some strange occurrences with the wildlife not too far from here." Jeremy's voice was suddenly serious.

"What kind of strange occurrences?"

"Oh, you know the usual," he said, taking on a nonchalant tone. "Some bears turning up ripped to shreds, deer stampeding into towns, that sort of thing." Jeremy sighed, looking out the window and flipping his hand as if It were nothing more than the weather that they were talking about, and not animals doing things they DEFINITELY shouldn't.

"What! Bears ripped to shreds, what could do that?" Charlie looked thoughtfully out the window, watching the rain trail down it, like a waterfall, he thought absentmindedly.

"Nothing around these parts," Jeremy said, looking excited. "And the deer, it's as if their….. Running from something."

"Where is this happening?"

"A couple of miles out, on that wildlife reservation up in the mountains."

Still in our jurisdiction, and that's where the Cullen's go to camp when it gets nice out. Charlie thought, I wonder if Carlisle and Esme noticed anything strange the last time they were out….

Charlie stood and strapped his gun and holster back on. "I'm going to the hospital to see if Doctor Cullen noticed anything the last time he was there, call me if you find out anything else."

"You got it boss," Jeremy responded, mock saluting. "And be careful, I don't trust those Cullen's."

"I won't have to be careful; me and Carlisle have been friends since him and his family moved here." Charlie said, donning his jacket.

"I know but, there's something about them…" Jeremy shuddered "they give me the creeps, just promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise," he rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't be so paranoid I'll be fine."

He didn't know it then, but he couldn't be more wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

"No I didn't notice anything strange." Carlisle Cullen, the esteemed doctor of Forks Hospital, responded, in the very white hall of the hospital.

"You sure?" Charlie asked shifting uncomfortably. Hospitals made him nervous for some reason.

"Yes. What do you think could be doing this, Charlie?"

"We're not sure yet, but we'll figure it out soon enough. In the meantime maybe you should stay away from there for now."

"Nonsense, whatever's out there seems to only be targeting animals; I think we'll be fine." Carlisle said, with a knowing smile on his face.

"Well even so, if you're going to be heading out there anytime soon, at least keep an eye out."

"Of course, you be careful too, Charlie"

Suddenly the gnawing feeling was back.

* * *

"Hey, Jeremy, meet me at the wildlife reservation in an hour." Charlie said on the phone a couple of hours later.

Charlie thought that the bad feeling would go away once he had gotten home and had some time to rest, but it had just gotten worse and he felt that he had to do SOMETHING. So he decided that it would be a good time to check out the reservation. The rain had let up and the sun was shining, so even though he would be stumbling through a forest, at least he'd be stumbling through a forest in good weather.

"Ok see you then"

Charlie hung up the phone and went out to his cruiser, making sure the door stayed unlocked. Bella was still at school and he didn't want to lock her out, he'd never hear the end of THAT one.

* * *

"So where do we start?" Jeremy asked, looking at the surrounding greenery, doubtfully.

"You go to the ranger's headquarters and ask them if they've seen anything strange, and I'll look around here." Charlie responded, motioning to a clearing just past the cluster of trees in front of them.

"Got it, I'll call you if I find out anything."

"Ok."

Charlie made his way into the clearing, nearly falling over a log as he did so, and started to look around. He honestly had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for, tracks maybe. Droppings? He had no idea, but he couldn't just sit around and do nothing, the bad feeling was almost painful now.

Charlie made his way over to a fallen tree; it had deep scratches along its rough bark. And it looked as if something big and heavy had run into it, he squatted to get a closer look.

Strange….

Suddenly a bloodcurdling scream filled the clearing.

"Charlieeeeee!" Gunfire followed short.

"JEREMY!" Charlie jumped up and ran towards his Deputies screams.

"CHAR – URG…." Jeremy's cry was cut off suddenly.

"JEREMY!" Charlie stumbled through the trees, branches whipped against his face in his haste to save his friend.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Charlie ran into a new clearing a little further into the forest. And the sight that met his eyes made his stomach drop, and he knew that he wouldn't be getting a full night's sleep for a long while.

What was in the clearing ….. God…. He didn't even know how to explain it. Things like this don't HAPPEN… Oh God…. Jeremy, poor Jeremy, he was just a kid. He hadn't felt the amazing feeling of being in love, or the nervousness on your wedding day….. or the joy of holding your baby for the first time….

What was in the clearing wasn't….. Human.

There was a man, well he called it a man because that's what it looked like, but there was no way IT could be human, he was crouching over Jeremy's lifeless body, and…. DRINKING his blood.

Charlie made noise in the back of his throat, and the monsters head snapped up. Charlie gasped; its eyes were black, soulless pits that seemed to go on forever. The monster grinned as if it had won the lottery, and stalked towards Charlie.

Charlie fumbled with his gun, trying to pull it out of its holster but his hands were shaking too badly. The thing dropped into a crouch, that horrendous grin never leaving its face. Charlie saw it tense, readying itself to pounce; Charlie closed his eyes waiting for the pain that was sure to come.

But instead of being tackled by the beast, Charlie heard a noise that sounded like a semi truck running into a marble slab.

He opened his eyes and saw….. Carlisle….. of all people, wrestling with the thing. Charlie made a move to help his friend, but what happened next froze him in his tracks. Carlisle grabbed the monster by the arm and swung him once, before throwing him into a tree all the way across the clearing. The tree shook with the force and the monster lie there on the ground for a moment, before jumping up and running at Carlisle so fast that he looked nothing more than a blur.

Charlie wanted to run, he wanted to run to the cruiser, drive at full speed to Bella's school, and hop on the next fight to China, anywhere, so long as it was as far from here as possible.

But he didn't.

He couldn't leave Jeremy, dead as he was, just laying there, eyes still open, and a look of pure and utter horror plastered onto his face. It wouldn't be right. Charlie slowly walked over to his fallen comrade, simply ignoring the fight that was still going on between Carlisle and the monster that killed Jeremy, he swiped his hand over his friends face, closing his eyes, and pulled his head onto his lap. He remembered all those times they had shared, Jeremy had always been there for him, ever since they had first met, and there was no reason why Charlie couldn't be there for him now.

Even if a monster and one of his closest friends, that turned out not to be who he thought he was, were battling it out to the death.

Charlie wasn't too sure it was real anyway, he had the feeling that it was all a bad dream, and that he would wake up any minute in his bed, covered in sweat. And he would call Jeremy, despite how late it was, and ask him if he was ok, and Jeremy would laugh and tease him, and of course Charlie wouldn't hear the end of it for a long while.

But no. The sound of stone hitting stone, and the feel of Jeremy's warm blood on his hands told him the truth.

This was real.

This. Was. Real.

"Charlie."

The sound of Carlisle's voice sent a chill down his spine.

"Charlie." Carlisle said, a little louder this time.

"WHAT!" Charlie shouted. "WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT!" His voice shook, and he cursed himself for showing weakness.

Carlisle had the gall to look startled. "I just wanted to see if he was OK." He said, motioning to Jeremy.

"No. No he's not. And he never will be thanks to that THING!" Charlie felt his anger growing but under that, taking the place of that gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach, was fear. "You better start explaining Carlisle."

Carlisle opened and closed his mouth a few times, and avoiding Charlie's gaze he said. "I can't."

"What do you mean you CAN'T?!" Charlie exclaimed, gently putting his deputies head back on the ground and rising.

"I just can't." Carlisle said, shrugging. "If I tell you something bad could happen, and I can't let another person get hurt." Carlisle dropped his gaze to the ground, avoiding Charlie's. "Please, Charlie, just trust me."

Charlie wasn't going to stand here and take this.

If Carlisle wanted to keep secrets, then so be it, but he wasn't going to stand here and be treated like a child. Charlie stooped down, lifted Jeremy's lifeless body onto his shoulder, turned on his heel, and walked away. Charlie was vaguely aware of Carlisle talking behind him, but he tuned it out and focused on getting his friend to the cruiser. Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe he could be saved.

Charlie's rational mind told him that that was just the shock talking, that there was no way Jeremy's heart would ever beat again, but he didn't listen. After a while Carlisle stopped talking and just followed him all the way back to the cruiser, once he got there, he had some trouble unlocking the door. His hand was shaking so bad that he couldn't even get the key in the lock, and Jeremy's weight just made it worse.

After a moment Carlisle gently took the keys from Charlie's hand and unlocked and opened the door for him. Charlie carefully laid Jeremy down on the back seat. He took his jacket off and covered Jeremy's face with it. He then buckled the seatbelt so that he wouldn't fall off the seat during all those bumps in the road, and softly closed the door, as if Jeremy were simply sleeping and Charlie didn't want to wake him.

Charlie went around to the driver's side and got in, putting the key into the ignition, he started the cruiser and drove away.

* * *

They say that when something bad happens the rest of the day goes by in a blur by comparison.

That wasn't true.

Charlie remembered every second. The drive to the hospital. His own officers questioning him about Jeremy's death, a bear attack is what he said, he didn't want to tell them the truth they would never believe it, he wasn't too sure he believed it himself, and finally, coming home.

"Hey, Dad, you're late." Bella chirped. Once he had hung up his gun and holster, his jacket was still at the police station, evidence.

He gave her some excuse about paperwork, said no he wasn't hungry, and went up to his room with the words 'I'm tired'. He shut and locked his door and lie down on his bed.

And then he cried.

* * *

**A/N This is all you all will be getting for a while. I'm going camping so i wont be able to post anything for about a week.**

**Thank You JediKnightoftheRougeSquadron for reviewing! It really means alot to me :3 And i will be continuing until i run out of ideas or time.**


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks.

Two weeks had passed since Jeremy's death, and Charlie had had a nightmare every night without fail. The week had passed uneventfully. There was a funeral for Jeremy though. The funeral was small; Jeremy hadn't had many friends here in Forks, his parents did come out though. Jeremy hadn't talked about his family much, Charlie did know, that Jeremy was an only child and he wasn't that close to his parents, he didn't know why though. Jeremy never told him.

Shortly after the funeral Charlie was advised to take some time off to "heal" as they said, but he couldn't, he needed to work. To keep his mind off… things. Things he didn't want to think about.

And he hadn't. He just continued living in blissful ignorance, like he said he wasn't a man of change. And the things he would think once he allowed himself to…. Well, that would be a lot different than changing the curtains or getting a new sofa, it would change the way he viewed life itself.

And he quite liked the way he viewed life at the moment. But still… he could feel it gnawing at the back of his mind, not just the thoughts but the urge, the urge to….. Avenge, Jeremy somehow.

* * *

Bella had been acting strange lately, Charlie didn't know how to explain it really, it was just…. Weird. She would be all happy to go to school, and as soon as she got home she'd be grumpy. It was pretty strange. But then what wasn't nowadays.

Today would be a good day, he could feel it. There was a layer of snow covering everything from last night's storm, and the ice made the forest look like something straight out of one of the fairy tells he used to tell Bella when she was small enough to fit on his knee.

Because he was in a good mood, and he thought it would be fatherly, Charlie put his spare set of snow chains on Bella's monster of a truck. Once he was done he drove to work, where he had yet another uneventful day.

Well he COULD have had an uneventful day, but obviously the universe hated him and wanted him to die young of a heart attack or something, because almost as soon as he sat down one of his boys came into his office telling him that a girl almost got hit by a van at the high school.

Charlie immediately thought of Bella because, of course.

He was speeding, which was extremely dangerous with this much ice on the road even with the snow chains. But Charlie could care less; all he could think about now was his daughter. He prayed to God that she was all right; he couldn't lose another person he loved so soon.

He got there just in time to see her being loaded onto the ambulance, and it was Bella because, of course.

"Bella!" he yelled in panic, running to her side.

"I'm completely fine, Char – Dad," she sighed, almost annoyedly. "There's nothing wrong with me."

Yeah, right. Charlie turned to the closest EMT for assurance.

* * *

They got to the hospital a lot sooner than he would have liked, although that was a very selfish thought on his part. He wanted Bella to get checked out, yes, but that would require him talking to Carlisle, and he had done such a good job of not thinking about THAT.

Charlie followed the stretcher carrying his daughter to one of the many rooms in the enormous building. It was one of those ones with the pull around curtain for privacy. He was vaguely aware of one of Carlisle's son's presence, Edward, if he remembered correctly, but was too nervous to question what exactly he was doing there.

"Charlie, may I talk to you for a minute?"

Carlisle.

Charlie nodded numbly and followed the doctor into the hall. He knew he would have had to face this sooner or later, he just preferred it be much, much later.

"What did you want to talk about?" Charlie murmured. Maybe if he played dumb Carlisle would just drop it and he could continue living in ignorance.

"You know, what."

Guess not.

"Fine," he huffed. "but only if you answer ALL of my question TRUTHFULLY." Charlie crossed his arms indignantly, the way he saw it, it was all or none.

"I can't do that." Carlisle said. He still looked like himself, all kind words and gentle hands, but there was something different about him.

Maybe he was just starting see the doctor as he really was, whatever that may be.

"Fine ill figure it out myself." He said, turning to go. But Carlisle caught his arm before he could.

"Please Charlie; just listen to me for one second." He turned at the pleading tone in Carlisle's voice. He didn't LOOK dangerous, far from it, actually. He looked like he couldn't, no, WOULDN'T hurt a fly.

He looked like his friend.

"OK." He turned the rest of the way around and crossed his arms back over his chest, waiting.

"Firstly, what happened to Jeremy, I'm sorry." He said, looking sad. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and if I hadn't got to you when I did…. Well…" he trailed off.

Charlie lost some of his tough demeanor at the mention of his former deputy's name.

"Anyway," Carlisle continued, "I can't tell you ALL of it, at least not here, but I promise I will, soon." He sighed. "I just need you to be extra careful these next couple of days."

"Why?" Charlie asked suspiciously.

"Because, well, let's just say there's someone dangerous out there, and leave it at that." He looked apologetic as he tried to get past him to go check on Bella.

Charlie stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Whoa! You can't just say things like that and expect me to let you go! This isn't some bad romance novel!"

"I'm sorry, Charlie, but this isn't the time or the place." He said, gently brushing Charlie's hand off his shoulder. He was always so gentle, Charlie often wondered how ANYONE could be that calm. Especially working in a hospital.

"Then when?"

Carlisle looked thoughtful. "How about Friday, at my house, were going camping this weekend and we won't be back until Monday so unless you want to wait….."

"NO!" Charlie answered a little too eagerly. "Fridays good."

"OK, see you then."

* * *

**A/N Thank you all who reviewed! Make sure to let me know if you have any ideas, I always need new ones. Also im sorry that the chapters are so short, i don't have a lot of time to write. I should have another chapter up in a couple of days, depending how busy i get, im seeing this story to be around ten chapters. Because it is my first story, but fear not! Im thinking of doing the rest of the series in Charlies POV with his own adventures thrown in. But its just an idea so don't get your hopes up.  
**

**I'm not gonna ask you to review or fave because I know you will ;) (lol jk)**

**Happy Mothers Day! To all you wonderful mothers out there! 3 **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N FINALLY this is where it gets interesting!**

**I feel the need to mention that**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT **

**because I'm using some of the dialogue from the book in this chapter. not a lot don't worry. I'm still making it my own, and i had to change some of the wording to fit Charlie instead of Bella. So enjoy!**

**Also I'm sorry about the last line. I couldn't resist. ;)**

* * *

"Dad?"

It was Wednesday night, and he and Bella were just finishing up dinner. Charlie had been worrying all week about the "talk" that he and Carlisle were scheduled to have Friday. He kept running it through his head, every possible way the conversation could go, every possible explanation. Anything but _that._

It scared him to even _think_ about that, much less hear it. And from his friend too. But in his heart of hearts he knew the truth, the awful life changing truth.

"Yeah, Bella?"

"Um, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to Seattle for the day a week from Saturday…. If that's OK?" She sounded like she didn't want to ask for permission, but was just doing it out of courtesy.

"Why?" He would never admit it, but he was a little afraid of letting her go. With everything that had been happening lately… it was just a bad feeling. But still he couldn't tell her NOT to go, she would just want to know why, and she would keep nagging him until he told her.

"Well, I wanted to get a few books - the library here is pretty limited – and maybe look at some clothes."

He tried to think of a reason for her not to go. "The truck probably doesn't run good on gas mileage." He offered weakly, it wasn't like there weren't any places for her to stop along the way.

"I know. I'll stop in Montesano and Olympia – and Tacoma if I have too."

See.

"Are you going all by yourself?" Maybe if someone went with her she would at least stand a chance.

"Yes."

Of course.

"Seattle is a big city – you could get lost," now it was getting pathetic.

"Dad, Phoenix is five times the size of Seattle – and I can read a map, don't worry about it." She tried to assure him, but you don't ask a father not to worry about his child, it went against nature. Like other things…

"Do you want me to go with you?" Now it was definitely pathetic.

She tried hard to hide her horror, although he still saw it and tried not to be too hurt.

"That's all right, Dad, I'll probably just be in dressing rooms all day – very boring."

"Oh, ok." He had lost this battle.

"Thanks." She smiled.

* * *

Friday was finally here.

Bella had gone down to La Push with some friends. So it left no reason to reschedule. Charlie took his time putting on his jacket and getting to the car, and starting it.

He felt like he was going to need a therapist after this.

When he finally did pull into the Cullen's driveway, he almost lost his nerve. But in the end he mustered up his courage and walked to the door. The house was huge, the biggest in town. And everything was done in white, like the hospital, Charlie thought. He knocked on the door and waited.

One Mississippi.

Two Mississippi.

Three –

The door opened to reveal the smiling face of his long time friend.

"Hello, Charlie." Carlisle greeted, cheerfully.

"Hi." Was all Charlie offered. He wasn't here for small talk.

Carlisle seemed to sense his eagerness. "Come in." He said, opening the door wider.

Charlie entered the vast foyer; the inside looked the same as the outside, big and white. There was a piano in one corner, and the black finish looked out of place in all the white. Carlisle led him into the kitchen where he started making coffee. It suddenly came to Charlie's attention that the house was too quiet for a family of seven.

"Where's your family?"

"Camping." Was all Carlisle said.

Charlie took a seat on one of the barstools at the little island in the middle of the kitchen."Why aren't you with them?"

Carlisle smiled a little, as if Charlie were missing the big picture.

"I came back to talk to you, I thought it best that we talk alone." He said, placing a freshly brewed cup of coffee in front of Charlie.

"Oh." He felt a stab of fear. He allowed it to stay there for a moment before brushing it away. He believed that your fear is what kept you safe; as long as you had fear you had sanity. And he knew the second he stopped being afraid of Carlisle he wouldn't be sane anymore.

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. He didn't know why Carlisle didn't just tell him what he came here to hear. But he wasn't about to push him.

"Follow me." Carlisle said, rising, once Charlie had finished his coffee. He idly wondered why Carlisle didn't have any. He followed Carlisle out the kitchen and into the living room where they came to the bottom of some stairs.

"What I'm about to tell you will completely change the way you look at life." Carlisle said, climbing up the stairs slowly, as if he had all the time in the world.

"It is something you should never tell anyone, I wasn't even going to tell you. But I felt that you deserved to know after everything that's happened." Carlisle paused at the top of the stairs and turned to Charlie. "Just know that you could be in great danger once you hear my story."

Charlie nodded; transfixed at the way Carlisle's eyes had suddenly gone deep, as if he were remembering something that had happened long ago. Carlisle studied him for a moment, like he was making sure he understood, before nodding once and continuing down a hall.

They walked down the long hall, past many doors, until Carlisle came to a stop in front of one. He hesitated a moment, as if he were reconsidering, before turning the knob and entering. It was a study, from what Charlie could tell. Almost every wall had a bookshelf full of books up against it. All except one, the wall that the entrance was on had paintings. Dozens and dozens of paintings.

Carlisle walked over to a large mahogany desk in the middle of the room, "I'm going to tell you a little about my history." He said, sitting in the leather chair behind it.

Charlie nodded and walked up to the desk, "I'm listening." He said, putting his hands against the dark wood of the desk.

"There's a lot to tell, I'm actually not sure where to start." He said, looking flabbergasted. And then he suddenly looked excited, as if he had figured out a particularly difficult puzzle."The Waggoner," he said smiling triumphantly. He stood and grabbed Charlie's arm pulling him toward the far left side of the painting covered wall, Carlisle stopped in front of a small square oil painting. This one wasn't extremely spectacular; it was done in dull tones of brown.

The painting depicted a small city full of slanted roofs, with thin spires on top of a few jumbled towers. A wide river filled the foreground, crossed by a bridge that looked hundreds of years old.

"London in the sixteen- fifties," Carlisle said, letting go of Charlie's arm. "The London of my youth," he added, looking wistful. He paused for a moment, with a faraway look in his eyes.

"What happened then?" Charlie asked, unable to take the silence.

"When I knew what I had become," He said, turning to him, giving Charlie an almost pleading look. As if he were begging him to understand, and not judge too quickly. "I rebelled against it." He looked away at another painting, a larger landscape done in fall colors, an empty meadow in a forest. "I tried to destroy myself, but that's not easily done." Here he looked back at Charlie with a pained look on his face.

"You know what I am, Right?"

Charlie gulped and then nodded slowly. Yes he knew. He just didn't want to say it. If he said it or Carlisle said it, it would make it all real. And THIS couldn't be real. But at the same time he WANTED to hear it said out loud, he wanted it to be real at the same time he didn't.

What was that expression? You can't have your cake and eat it too.

"Say it." Charlie demanded, taking on sudden bravery that he knew he had buried somewhere inside him. "Say it out loud."

Carlisle studied him for a moment, and then nodded.

"I'm a vampire."

* * *

**A/N CLIFFHANGER HANGING FROM A CLIIIIIFFFFF! Sorry but I need time to think about where I want this to go. I should have another chapter up within the next couple of days.**


	6. Chapter 6

"You said you rebelled, how?"

Carlisle gave a relieved sigh, most likely because Charlie hadn't freaked out or fainted or pulled his gun on him. It wasn't because he wasn't scared, he was, terrified even. But a small part of him knew that Carlisle wasn't going to hurt him. Someone was. It just wasn't going to be Carlisle.

"I jumped from great heights." Carlisle told him, impassively. "I tried to drown myself in the ocean…. But I was young to the new life and still very strong. I was able to resist… feeding. And I tried to kill myself with starvation."

"Is that possible?" Curiosity filled Charlie; this was all horrifying, yes. But he couldn't help wanting to know what it was like, what it felt like to be technically dead. And since he wasn't planning on becoming a vampire he settled for learning everything there was to learn. After all that's the most humanly thing there is about a person. Curiosity.

"No, there are very few ways we can be killed."

He started to ask, but Carlisle cut him off.

"So I grew very hungry, and very weak. I stayed as far as I could from humans, as my willpower was weakening too. I wandered by night looking for the emptiest places…. I hated myself." The amount of emotion in Carlisle's voice caught him off guard. Charlie started to feel uncomfortable, and suddenly wished that he were anywhere but here. It was strange really how he could be in the same room as a VAMPIRE talking about said vampire's urge to eat people, and it was the EMOTIONS that made him uncomfortable. Seriously.

"One night, a herd of dear passed where I was hiding at the time. I was so hungry; I attacked without a second thought. My strength returned, and I realized there was an alternative. I didn't have to become a monster. I was always eager to learn, so I studied at night and planned in the day. I swan to France and – "

"You _swam_ to France?" Weird how _that_ detail is what he found unbelievable. People swam the Channel all the time.

"Swimming is very easy for us, because technically we don't need to breathe." Carlisle paused here, letting that information sink in.

"Why would you." Charlie said, sarcastically.

Carlisle chuckled. "It's not necessary for us, just a habit." He stated, factually.

"How long can you go?" Curiosity was back.

"Forever, I guess, I don't know I haven't actually tried. It gets a bit uncomfortable – being without a sense of smell."

"Hmmm."

"Anyway, I was swimming to France." Carlisle's eyes flickered over to another painting, this one was very colorful, and it was also very large, almost as big as one of the bay windows that let light in behind them. Painted onto the canvas were a bunch of figures in bright colored robes, walking around pillars and tall balconies.

"I swam to France, and continued on through Europe, to the universities. At night I studied music, science, medicine, and I found my calling. In saving lives." Carlisle smiled contentedly.

Charlie took that time to ask him what had been on his mind since he had first realized what Carlisle was. "Why can you walk in the day." Now that it was out of his mouth it sounded twice as stupid as when it was in his head.

Carlisle laughed, "In case you haven't noticed, it's never actually day here. Half the time it's raining and the other half, the sky's covered in clouds. And when the sun finally does decide to make an appearance we just go camping."

"But why?"

Carlisle looked away, as if he were embarrassed. "We…."

"You what?"

Carlisle sighed. "We sparkle, OK. We have crystal in our skin and when direct sunlight hits it, it sparkles."

"What like a tiara?" Charlie asked, skeptically.

"Yes… no. But yes." He sighed. "It's hard to explain."

"Then show me."

"I can't do it on command. We'd have to go outside and right now I'm telling you my story, let me finish and then I'll show you."

Charlie sighed; he was treating him like a child again. But he was 362 years old so technically everyone was a child to him.

"It took me two centuries of torturous effort to perfect my self-control. Now I'm just about immune to the scent of human blood." He tapped the huge painting that was hanging in front of us. "I was studying in Italy when I discovered the others. They were so much more civilized and educated then the demons that hunted me." He touched one of the figures on a balcony, and Charlie laughed when he realized that it was Carlisle.

"Solimena was inspired by my friends. He liked to paint them as gods," He smiled. "Aro, Marcus, Caius," He said, tapping each one in turn. "Nighttime patrons of the art."

"What happened to them?"

He shrugged. "They're still there. As they have been for a very long time. I stayed with them for a couple of decades." He smiled, "What caught my interest was, they were so much more civilized then the monsters that hunted me. Like royalty."

"Why didn't you stay?"

"They were persistent in getting me to revert back to human blood. I was persistent in getting them to give animal blood a try." Carlisle chuckled, "But you just can't teach an old dog new tricks. So I went to the New World, I wanted to find someone like me. I was so lonely." He looked sad for a split second, and then almost immediately perked up. "It took a while but monsters became the stuff of fairy tales, and I could walk amongst the living without drawing suspicion. I began practicing medicine. But I still craved companionship. When the influenza epidemic hit, I was working nights at a hospital in Chicago. I'd been thinking….. that maybe if I couldn't find a companion I could MAKE one."

Charlie stomach turned, he didn't like where this was going.

"And then I found Edward, there was no hope he was too far gone. His parents had already died, he was alone. I decided to try…" his voice got quiet, and his gaze dropped to the floor. It was like Charlie was his father and Carlisle was confessing something naughty he knew he would get in trouble for.

"I turned him. I didn't quite know how to do it, so I just replicated my own bites. It was a lot more messy than it could have been, but I've never regretted it." He liked up, and smiled hesitantly.

"What about Edward?"

Carlisle's smile faltered, "Sometimes he looks so sad, I know he feels alone. But I think it's more because everyone has a mate but him. He's been doing better lately though; I think he met someone at school." His smile was back. "Maybe it's your daughter." He joked.

Charlie snorted; he couldn't see Bella falling for prim and proper Edward.

"That's about it. You know everything." He looked relieved. "it actually feels kind of good to tell a human all of this."

Charlie didn't respond, his mind was whirring with all the information that Carlisle had given him and he really didn't know how to felt about all of it. Scared? Yes. But he had no idea what to do next. Carlisle seemed to sense his discomfort.

"How about I show you what happens when I go in the sun now."

* * *

**A/N I am so sorry that this took so long to put up. I've just been so busy! But here you go as promised. I'm not promising when I'll have the next chapter up, but I'm warning you it might be a while.**


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